Obama launches ‘climate hubs’ to help farmers and communities

The Obama administration will announce the establishment of regional hubs focused on mitigating climate change on Wednesday.

The hubs are the first-ever regional centers that will focus solely on risk adaptation and climate change solutions at seven locations across the country.
“On the heels of passage of the farm bill, the administration will take executive action to help farmers, ranchers and rural communities combat climate change and adapt to extreme weather and other damage it causes,” a White House official said in an email ahead of Wednesday’s announcement.

Dubbed “climate hubs,” the new centers will address issues like increasing risks of fires, invasive pests, devastating floods and crippling droughts, the official said. The centers will aim to translate science and research into usable information for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to adjust their resource management.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will formally announce the new initiative during the daily White House press briefing on Wednesday. Vilsack mentioned his intention to first create the hubs last summer.

“For generations, America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have innovated and adapted to challenges,” Vilsack said in a statement on Wednesday.